Q & A: Questions and Answers about dreams, mythology and spirituality. As your trusted advisor on the subject of dreams, spirituality and mythology I have compiled a list of the questions people usually ask me about dreams, the meaning of dreams, mythology and spirituality.

Q & A #1: What does my dream mean?

There are several ways you can use to attach meaning to a dream. Non of them is 100 % accurate. Because it is all a question of interpretation. That is why people who try to help you attach a meaning to your dream always say that a dream is ‘layered”: it has multiple layers of possible meanings attached into all its symbolism.

I always consider dreams a kind of Rorschach test. You have vague images and you project your own meaning into them. The one problem people can encounter using this method, is that people usually get stuck into their own interpretation of the world. That is why I always encourage seeking an objective opinion when you have the feeling that a dream has a significant meaning.

Calvin & Hobbes Cartoon

Q & A #2: What book do you recommend to help me figure out what my dream means?

There are a number of techniques to teach yourself to be aware that you are dreaming while you are in a dream. The famous “hand” technique” as mentioned by Carlos Casteneda. Your hands are always with you. So when you look at your hands while awake and asking yourself if you are dreaming is going to create a habit in which you will ask yourself that question while you are dreaming. In your dreams, your hands look odd: sometimes they fade away, sometimes you see extra fingers. This can be a trigger to induce a lucid dream.

There are many techniques and supplements that help increase vividness of dreams and therefore will make lucid dreaming more probable. Galantamine, commonly used for patients suffering from Alzheimer, is one of them. There are some good books about lucid dreaming. Robert Waggoner is one of the best and most knowledgable teachers in lucid dreaming. I can also recommend the book “Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming” of Stephen LaBerge, that I used myself.

Q & A #4: Are There Ways to Improve my Dream Memory?

People often tell me that their partner remembers dreams all the time, but it never happens to them. Here are some things you can do about it. Drink water during the evening. That way you will probably wake up and have to go to the bathroom in the night. Waking up encourages dream memory. Another tip is to wake up early. Tell yourself that you are going to wake up at a certain time and ask yourself what was happening. Try to “walk back” in your mind and see if this triggers any memories about your dream.

eBook: 10 ways to improve dream memory – Mindfunda

Write down a story, any story that comes into your mind early upon awakening. your mind will get used to it and you will start to recall and write down your dreams very soon. Want more tips? Download my free ebook.

Q & A #5: How Much Sleep do I need?

This varies from person to person. There are people who function well with little sleep. For example: Margret Thatcher was famous for her short nights. But on average people need 7-9 hours of sleep each night. When you suffer from sleeplessness it is usually caused by medicine, food or illness. You can read much more about sleep in this blog.

Q & A #6: Does the way I Sleep influence the Content of my Dreams?

Research done by Hong Shue Yan indicated that if you sleep on your stomach, you will get more sexual orientated dreams. Another research indicated that sleeping on your left side can lead to more nightmares. Sleeping on your right side induced more pleasant dreams.

When you sleep and take care that you are not lying down, but sitting up, you try to stay conscious while dreaming. I have even heard of people who sleep in carton boxes to induce this kind of dreaming. It is called Tibetan Dream Yoga. Falling asleep this way should retain your consciousness during sleep and induce lucid dreaming.

Q & A #7: Why do I never have a Big, Meaningful Mythological Dream?

I am convinced that everyone has those big dreams. You might not have remembered them. You might not have recognised them. How do you spot a mythological theme in a dream? Answer the question: where am I in waking life on the path of the hero?

Determine the adventures that are calling you. Usually we don’t want to hear the call. In your dreams you are in the “special world”. If you read the archetypical dream I recently analysed, you know it is mythological. But there are mythological themes in ordinary dreams as well. You only have to know how to look for them.

Ask yourself some questions if you want to discover the mythological content of your dreams:

Is your dream about Love or about Power?

Is your dream about Heaven or Earth?

Is your dream about Life-Death-Resurrection?

If the answer to one of the questions is yes, you are sure there is a mythological theme that lies at the foundation of the dream. If you want more knowledge about mythology and dreams my own online course treats six subjects: creation, animals, woman, men, trickster and the grail. Each lesson has a multitude of questions regarding your own dreams that will make you see your dreams in a new light.

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THIS CONTENT IS CREATED BY SUSANNE VAN DOORN, AUTHOR AND OWNER OF MINDFUNDA; MAKING THE FUNDAMENTALS OF PSYCHOLOGY, MYTHOLOGY AND SPIRITUALITY EASY TO USE IN YOUR PERSONAL LIFE!

What is Mindfunda about?

My name is Susanne van Doorn, I am a Dutch psychologist, blogger and author. I have been working with psychology, dreams and mythology ever since I finished my study in psychology at Tilburg University. I made this independant site to share insights, and recent scientific articles about the brain, dreams, and mythology for use in your personal life.

This posting is categorised as Dreamfunda:
Everything you need to know about dreams. Practical How to’s, the latest scientific research, the most commonly used ways to attach meaning to dreams. This and more is given to you for your everyday use in this part of Mindfunda

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Since February this year, Mindfunda has been talking about dreams, mythology, spirituality and dreams. Looking back at the past months, this is the list of the best books I have reviewed. The Top books 2015 about dreaming, mythology and spirituality.

Top books 2015: Lucid dreaming, plain and simple

Lucid dreaming is a technique that became popular in the seventies because of Carlos Casteneda’s books. He described a technique that was easy: you look at your hands and you wonder if you are awake or asleep. Your hands are always with you. In his younger years Robert Waggoner trained himself to become a lucid dreamer.

Top books 2015: Sidewalk Oracles

Robert Moss is an expert writer, a gifted story-teller, and his connection to the Goddess has made him one of my favorite authors when it comes to the subject of dreams and spirituality.

Buy the book using this link and support Mindfunda

When people ask me if I know any good books about dreams I always say: “any book that is written by Robert Moss about the subject is excellent. Mind you, Robert used to be a writer and a journalist before concentrating on the subject of dreams. Sidewalk oracles is filled with ways of bringing magic back into your life. A fun encyclopedia to have around in times when feel the need to breaking the circle to get out of a rut.

Top books 2015: Dreaming

Jennifer Windt has been the one who completed a philosophical map of the field of dreaming. I must confess this is not an easy read, but it will give you so much more insight into the field of dreaming. Its history, its philosophy, its challenges, its limits. Just the book for the cold winter days. A book that will illuminate your mind and hopefully will give you some crazy bold ideas yourself.

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Consciousness, what is it? Were in the brain can it be found? When you have a dreamless sleep, where are you? Professor Evan Thompson, who has written the next book on the list, says: “This book sets a new standard for the science and philosophy of dreaming in the twenty-first century.”

Top books 2015: Waking, Dreaming, Being

Using the oldest known map of consciousness, Evan Thompson, uses the newest neurological insights as a form of cartography. You can see Evan Thompson talking about Waking, Dreaming, Being in my Mindfunda interview with him.

Buy this book using this link and support Mindfunda

Waking, Dreaming, Being touches the fundamental questions about consciousness, combining the newest scientific knowledge of the West with the ancient Wisdom of the East.

Top books 2015: Wake Up to Your Dreams

Justina Lasley created a method called DreamSynergy. An easy to use method that enables you to comprehend the message in a dream you remember. And to take action. Justina told me in a Mindfunda interview how her dreams turned her life around. She found the love of her life, and followed a new career path.

Buy this book using this link and support Mindfunda

Wake Up to Your Dreams is an easy to use book, with lots of examples and dreams. Justina says: “Because dreams can be complicated, I wanted to create an easy method in a book filled with exercises”.

Top books 2015: Romance of the Grail

Mythology and Mindfunda. Being as interested in dreams as I am, you can not avoid mythology. I have dreamed about Odin before I knew who he was.
And when you say mythology, you say Joseph Campbell.

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The study of the Arthurian myth was a doorway for Joseph Campbell into comparative mythology. Using the mythological tales as symbols for spiritual development in the human psyche. In this book you can find Campbell’s dissertation: “The Dolorous Stroke”.

Top books 2015: The book of SHE

In November I started my first blog series. Throughout the month I publish 4 blogs around a central theme. This month the theme is the Descent. Going into the dark to find your inner light. In November the theme was the Goddess.
The book of SHE fitted right in. We know Joseph Campbell as the man who brought us the knowledge about the hero’s journey. Soon enough there was a lady called Maureen Murduck that acknowledged that women have got another journey.

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Sara Avant Stover has taken this knowledge into the twenty-first century. Things start to change if you embrace your inner Goddess. The connection that Sara feels with Mary Magdalen is a heartfelt one. The heroine’s journey is a challenge all women must face. To have a guidebook is necessary.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Remember: Christmas is a very special time for dreaming, so join Mindfunda for the Holy Night Dream Incubations.

Mindfunda invites you for a Christmas celebration you will remember. For just 10 dollars you get exclusive access to a restricted private area on Mindfunda during the Holy Nights. Each night between December 24 and January 6 I will share a dream incubation. We will talk about and reflect on our dreams. Ancient belief says that during these nights the veil between the worlds is thin. Register now as Mindfunda More Member, to experience the depth of your dreams.

Mindfunda's Susanne van Doorn was invited by the Societas Studiosorum Reformatorum Eindhoviensis or SSRE in Eindhoven to give a presentation to celebrate their 58th anniversary. The motto of their anniversary was Living the dream, so they reached out to me to talk about dreams. This Mindfunda is a transcript of the 'Living the Dream' presentation of September 14, 2015.

Living the dream, a cultural perspective

When I went away to University in the eighties, I had the Western idea of Living the Dream in mind. I was going to live on a beach somewhere, with lots of sun and lots of swimming. I would find myself a nice hunk to spend my life with and I would find a challenging job that payed well. It looked a bit like this:

living the dream

The Best Job in the World

I know a lot of you share that view on ‘Living the dream’ with me. It is a cultural phenomena. A Western cultural ideal. How can we use something as individual as a dream to help us reach that goal? Let’s define dreaming using physical and psychological elements. I will give two techniques that will help you direct your dreams in a certain direction. They will help you reach your goals. Finally I will give you some great examples that will convince you that dreams can help you with Living the dream.

Let’s get philosophical

Are you dreaming right now? Do you ever wonder during the day if you are dreaming? Patricia Garfield did some research into common dream themes. Getting educated (by reading this blog) is one of the most common dream themes. So are you quite sure that you are not dreaming right now?

You could perform a reality check: count the fingers of your hands. Carlos Casteneda wrote about it in the seventies and lots of people learned to lucid dream by looking to their hands before falling asleep. Hands are always with you. Looking at your hands before you fall asleep and telling yourself to look at your hands during your dream to remember yourself that you are dreaming seems to be a sure technique to reaching lucidity in your dreams. Robert Waggonerused this technique to acquire the basic principles of lucid dreaming.

Descartes

The question ‘are we dreaming right now?’ is the inheritance of Descartes. Descartes thought us to question everything. Yourself, your body, reality. we get taught to think that way in our universities and high schools. Descartes claimed that he existed because he was a thinking person: cogito ergo sum, I think therefore I am. But that caused us to make a distinction between our mind and our body. And that is how I am going to define a dream. I will define three elements of physical dreaming and three elements of psychological dreaming. After doing that we can go back to “living the dream” and see how we can dream ourselves a way into this Western ideal.

Living the dream: technique #1

So how do you know if you are dreaming at this moment? There is a technique, introduced by Carlos Casteneda in the seventies. Looking at your hands and counting your fingers. When this becomes a habit you start to do this in your dreams. In your dreams your fingers look different. And you always have your hands with you. Before you go to sleep: relax your body, look at your hands and say to yourself: I will look at my hands in my sleep and realize that I am dreaming.
There are more reality checks: looking a watch or a clock two times. The second time the clock hand will point at a different number.
Turn on the light: in your dream this is not possible.
Go back in time: wonder what you did before this event. In a dream you will not be able to remember a natural sequal of events.

So with this technique in mind, let’s define dreaming. I will cut up the dreaming process in physical and psychological elements.

Three Physical elements of dreaming

suprachiasmatic nucleus

#1: The supraciasmatic nucleus takes care of our day – night rhythm. It regulates your body clock. Light reaches into your eye, and regulates this nuclei. It is one of the reasons why you better not wear sun glasses in the summer. And why you should dim the lights at night. When people can not fall asleep, I often give them the advice to talks a walk in the dark. Movement and darkness are ways of resetting the supraciasmatic nuclei. Darkness is the sign for the tryptophan in your body to be transferred to melatonin, which make you fall asleep. So don’t buy melatonin in the supermarket. Turn out the lights on time and go out for a walk in the dark!

#2: Brainwaves are a certain indicator of your state of awareness. Especially the Delta and Theta waves are present during sleep. REM sleep occurs during Theta waves.

Brain waves

During Delta waves there is Deep Sleep. Sleep with no awareness. the total darkness. I will be interviewing Evan Thompson for Mindfunda soon. in his book Waking Dreaming Being, he devotes a whole chapter on this kind of sleeping. Where is the Self, The I, the awareness during this state? Is it a kind of ‘death’? or is there a sense of awareness?

The Rapid Eye Movement (REM sleep we got to know and love during the fifties appears in the Theta sleep. It was during REM that Stanley Krippner woke up his dreamers in his telepathy projects. He wanted to research of dreamers could be influenced by an outsider. In his experiments he got art, he got a dreamer and he got a sender in his dream lab. An artwork was randomly selected, the sender started concentrating and the dreamer started dreaming. Whenever the dreamer reached REM sleep he was woken up and a dream report was written down. This report was judged by an independent jury and scored on various points. Krippner published some amazing results, dreamers did manage to report dreams that showed fragments of paintings in a very accurate manner.

#3: Inhibition of the spinal motor neurons. We do not move in our dreams from the neck down. We can turn around in our bed, but we do not get up and act out our dreams, because of this inhibition. Here you can see a dreaming cat who is acting out its dreams. Now you can see why this inhibition has been an evolutionary advantage.

So now we have defined the physical elements of dreaming. We are buckled up, let’s go ahead and explore the psychological elements of dreaming.

Psychological elements of dreaming

#1: First of all, you dream in images. In 2012 Japanese researchers could provide us with images we are dreaming, as you can see in this film. Impressive huh? What a work that must have been. The decoding of the human brain will leap us into new mysteries to be explored. Did you notice the beginning of this film is a scene from Inception? Leonardo di Caprio is a lucid dreamer, not only on-screen but also in real life…

#2: The second psychological element of dreaming is: you dream in symbols. this little film I found tells you more about it.
I only have three remarks about it. Being chased is not necessarily a bad thing. It can lead to lucidity. A very well-known lucid dreamer had nightmares when he was a kid, He was being chased by a monster. He was so frightened he did not dare to go to bed at night. But his nother said to him: why don’t you just turn around when you see that monster again and ask him what he wants from you? So the dreamer did just that and found out that the monster was not meaning any harm. The monster said: “I want to tell you something, but you always run away”
Falling in your dream does not have to symbolise failing. It is also a reflection of the energy level of your body decreasing. Just let yourself fall down and start to fly. Enjoy the process.
I know that it is a common assumption that all characters in a dream are reflections of you. But not always… I did some research (you can download it here). I had several dreams about meeting people who had dreamed the same. So one day i decided to do an experiment. I got 15 couples. Every couple of dreamers were supposed to meet each other in a dream. One had a gift, the other was the receiver. After the night of dreaming I collected all the dream reports. And… Several couples indeed had met each other and reported the right gift in their dream reports.

The third psychological element of dreaming are emotions. A lot of people see emotions as the key to giving meaning to a dream. Te film Inside Out gives such a good representation of our basic emotions. Fear, Anger, Disgust, Sadness and Joy. When you look at the world we live in, only a few of these emotions are tolerated. Joy is accepted as a public emotion. Anger is tolerated when it comes out as dominance or sarcasm. But you must never be to angry, too sarcastic, too sad or too fearsome. Showing disgust makes you an arrogant person. So most of us have gotten used to hiding our emotions. Dreaming is reconnecting with your emotions. To get to know yourself better. To accept that those emotions are just part of life.

Now we have defined the elements of a dream, it is time to tell you about the second tecnhique you can use to dream your way into a better future.

Living the dream technique #2 Incubation

Dream incubation is an old technique. It was used in ancient Greece in the dream temples of Asclepius. You concentrate on what you want to dream about. You write down your problem. preferably before going to bed. And you end with writing down one positive formulated sentence. A sentence that reflects your dream question in a positive way. “What is the best for me right now?” or “What do I need to know about …?” And while you are in bed dozing off, mumble that sentence. Do not forget to tell yourself that you will remember and understand your dream each time after mentally stating your dream request.
You might not remember a dream your first night. And maybe even the second night. But you will remember a dream if you keep doing this. The more you practice this technique the better you will become.

Living the dream by using your dreams

There is one technique, besides lucid dreaming that I have not talked about. It is called incubation. The ancient Greeks used it in their dream temples when they wanted guidance for their health. And so can you. Here is what you do.

You write down a specific wish/problem/subject you want to dream about. during the day and again before sleep. You write down what you what to dream about and you finish with one clear positive sentence that states your request. ‘Tonight I will dream about … in a way that I will remember an understand’. Mumble those words as you doze off to sleep.

Living the dream consists of three things that go well in your life: love, your career and your health. I will tell you stories about dreams that have changed the lives of people in those three areas that are so important. All three areas are a reflection on who you are or on who you want to be in this life that you are given. These dreams will make you see that by dreaming, you can turn your world around for the better.

Living the dream: love

Justina Lasley found the man of her dreams by remembering a dream. In her book Wake up she tells us:
‘My dreams and intuition were instrumental and informative as I met and married Chad Minifie, the man of my dreams. One day I had tearfully shared my previous night’s dreams with my very intuitive friend Cathy. The dreams were brimming with sadness about not having met the man with whom I would share my future. She stopped me, saying she sensed from my dreams that I already had a connection to the man I would marry. As strange as it still seems to me, she was right. I followed her suggestion: I closed my eyes and tried to connect with the love I yearned for. I quickly felt a connection to both New England and England, which seemed very bizarre. I didn’t know many people in New England and had never spent time there…
The feeling of that experience stayed with me for several weeks. After a month or so, on e-Harmony (how can it be?) I met a man who lived on Hilton Island and decided to meet him for dinner in Charleston. Soon after being seated I asked, “Where are you from originally?” I am still in awe of his answer: “Well, I have spent most of my life in New England, but my family comes from England”

Dreaming and intuition are twin sisters. If you want to hear Justina tell more powerful stories about changing your life for the better using dreams as a guide you can watch the Mindfunda interview with her.

Living the dream: Career

Einstein

It was a dream that guided Einstein towards his theory of relativity. When he was 16, his grades in school were bad. His father said: “Son, I am giving up on you. Why don’t you become a plumber!”. Einstein was very upset because he felt he was smart. That night he had a dream that would nurture him into his fertile future. The dream that had all the ingredients of his discoveries.
‘In my dream I am on the top of a hill, covered with snow. My friends are with me and we all have sledges. We start to glide down and we all laugh and have fun. But my sledge is going down real hard and soon I go with the speed of light. I leave my friends behind me. When I look up to the sky I see the light fall apart into a spectrum.’

Einstein told this dream at the end of his life. This dream had been a secret inspiration for him. He told the interviewer that whenever he felt down or uninspired, he remembered the feeling of this dream.

Living the dream: Health

A dream can save you life. If you listen to the podcast of my dreams and health panel for the IASD conference in 2013 you can hear impressive examples.
But the story of Rita Dwyer and her colleage Ed Butler is one of the most impressive stories around. Ed had several dreams about saving Rita from a fire. He opened the door (we all know that you should not open a door when the door handle is hot or smoke comes out of the doorway. The flames will burst out because of the oxygen coming in). He got into her burning laboratory and got her out alive. Against all odds.

When they were in hospital Rita asked him: “Why did you open the door, and put your life in danger? You know it is against all formal regulations?” And he told her he had saved her in recurring dreams. “I knew I was going to survive this. I knew what I had to do, I had done it before in my dreams”. And that is one other good thing about dreams: they rehearse possible futures. You are able to dream the future. Perhaps it is better to say: dreams will rehearse several possible futures for you.

I want to thank SSRE for inviting me, and my colleague Hans van Nuland for his contribution to my ‘Living the Dream’ presentation.

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THIS CONTENT IS CREATED BY SUSANNE VAN DOORN, AUTHOR AND OWNER OF MINDFUNDA; MAKING THE FUNDAMENTALS OF PSYCHOLOGY, MYTHOLOGY AND SPIRITUALITY EASY TO USE IN YOUR PERSONAL LIFE!

What is Mindfunda about?

My name is Susanne van Doorn, I am a Dutch psychologist, blogger and author. I have been working with psychology, dreams and mythology ever since I finished my study in psychology at Tilburg University. I made this independant site to share insights, and recent scientific articles about the brain, dreams, and mythology for use in your personal life.

This posting is categorised as Dreamfunda:
Everything you need to know about dreams. Practical How to’s, the latest scientific research, the most commonly used ways to attach meaning to dreams. This and more is given to you for your everyday use in this part of Mindfunda

Comments or suggestions? Share your thoughts:

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Have you ever had that feeling that you are just going through the motions? You say what you need to say to keep your mother/father/wife/husband/child/friend (fill in what applies to you) happy. Wouldn’t you like to create a life build around your authentic personality? Without pissing everybody off? Because being your authentic self isn’t about bluntly saying what you feel is right. Being authentic is about expressing the things you know in your soul to be true in a way that is genuine and respectful to the other human beings you share your life with.

Justina Lasley (www.DreamSynergy.com) did just that. She created a new life for herself. By listeing to her dreams she became authentic. And discovered that being true to yourself does not mean that people do not like you anymore. Her book is called Wake up to your dreams.

Wake up to your dreams

Mindfunda had the pleasure of talking with Justina Lasley about her book. In this interview she shares her techniques. She talks about how she transformed her career. She tells a moving story about how she met the right guy at the right time. And she talks about the way she got a proper diagnose for an illness that had been a turmoil for quite some time. Be sure to have a written dream by your side when you are watching the Mindfunda interview. Justina applied her Dream Synergy method to a dream of mine. By giving your own answers to her questions you will gain a quick insight into possible interpretations of your dreams.

Create the life you want step #1

Listen to your dreams. You have your own private counsel each night. To advice you on where you want to go. Justina gives you tips and exercises to improve your dream memory. One very good method she talks about in the Mindfunda interview: treat your waking life as a dream. An old wisdom based upon dream yoga. But in a modern jacket. Watch the complete interview for more information.

Once you have increased your ability to remember your dreams (it is really like you have a ‘dream muscle’, you have to use it regularly so it grows) you are ready for step two.

Create the life you want step #2

Be wise in interpreting your dreams. Like the Talmud says: ‘a dream which is not interpreted is like a letter which is not read’. But the Talmud also explains how an interpreted dream has the tendency to fulfill itself. Justina knows this like no other. By using the Dream Synergy method you have the tool box of the wise man (to use an archetype) to create your own inner miracles. The Dream Synergy method consists of three key components: emotions, characters and belief combined with three levels of dreamwork: recap, relationship and recognition.

By analyzing your dream in such a thorough way you will become so much more gentle with yourself. You will understand more about your emotions. There is a very useful table of emotions in the book that is worth mentioning. Just like in the film Inside out, Justina divides emotions into 4 main categories: Mad, Sad, Glad and Afraid. (Click here to read more about the Pixar film Inside Out).

The dream characters are considered to be parts of yourself. You interpret them in that way. This will enhance your sense of self because you will most certain discover neglected talents.

Beliefs are often shimmering beneath conscious awareness. The Dream synergy method will help you to become more aware of them. And by understanding yourself more you will look back at mistakes of your past with more compassion.

Create the life you want step #3

Last but certainly not least: take action! Do something with the insights that are given to you in DreamTime. Justina turned her whole life, her world upside down for the better. Don’t be afraid to rock the boat. If you are going to change you will surely rub some feathers the wrong way. But, as Justina says at the end of the interview: ‘If one advances confidently in the directions of his dreams, and endeavors to the life which he has imagined, he will meet a success unexpected in common hours’ (Henry David Thoreau).

On 25 – 26 October Justina Lasley and Robert Waggoner will give an online workshop. To read more about it click here. Here is a link to my Mindfunda interview with Robert Waggoner we mentioned in the interview.

Quote #2

‘No sailor controls the sea. Only a foolish sailor would say such a thing. Similarly, no lucid dreamer controls the dream. Like a sailor on the sea, we lucid dreamers direct our perceptual awareness within the larger state of dreaming’.

Quote #3

‘When you look into a mirror, you know on some level that you are seeing the reverse reflection of yourself. However, the apparent accuracy of the reflection convinces you that you are seeing the real thing. When we look at our dreams without our sisters, we look into a reverse mirror. As dreamers we must know when we are seeing in reverse.

Quote #4

‘Myth is not an empirical science which has yielded considerable information about the natural world; indeed, it appears to be its polar opposite. However, the same shamans who told their communities imaginative stories about the origins of the world also used trial and error, as well as logical deduction, to determine which herbs had healing qualities, which substances would alter consciousness, which path hunters should pursue to find game, which changes the weather might take, and which direction would be the most propitious when it was time for a tribe to relocate’

Stanley Krippner in ‘Introduction: Some Perspectives on Myth’. The Humanistic Psychologist 22 (2), 122-123Click here to read about Stanley Krippner. To see my Mindfunda interview with him click here.

Quote #5

‘Alchemy was the secret tradition which taught that the priceless treasure spoken of in so many myths and legends of the ancient world lies within our own human nature – unrecognised, despised, neglected. It transposed the images of mythology and in particular the myth of the sacred marriage and the divine birth to the human soul. The alchemist descended into the depths of his soul to experience a death and rebirth, to be transmuted from lead into gold, to redeem the treasure buried in the primal matter of his instinctual life and to be reunited with the divine ground of the Soul personified by the feminine image of Divine Wisdom’.

Anne Baring

Anne Baring in ‘Dream of the Cosmos.’ Click here to read more about Anne and her work. To see my Mindfunda interview with her click here.

Quote #6

‘The Gods themselves require additional knowledge, gained, it seems , from the underworld, to interpret great and significant dreams which indicate the destiny of gods, kings and man’

Hilda Davidson, quoted in ‘The Well of Remembrance’ written by Ralph Metzner. Click here to read more about the Well of Remembrance. To see my Mindfunda interview with Ralph Metzner click here.

Quote #7

‘The only real death that ever occurs is when a dream we cherish dies’

P.M.H. Atwater. Click here to read more about all her work on near death experiences. To see the Mindfunda interview with her click here.

I would like to encourage you to sign up for my youtube channel: Two more interviews will be uploaded soon. Justina Lasley talks with Mindfunda about her methos of working with dreams and her new book ‘Wake up to your dreams’. Make sure you have your own dream(s) ready because she will take you through her easy method of finding out more about your dreams.

Catherine Wikholm will talk with Mindfunda about the merits AND the dark side of meditation. She has used meditation and yoga as a way to improve the life of prisoners and did scientific research about the results.
You can subscribe using this link.

Today I celebrate the #100th blog post of Mindfunda.
The number 100 is a special number. All ratios can be brought back to 100 using a percentage. 100 was considered to be the desired age for a human being in the bible. 100 represents eternity. (Don’t worry, I don’t plan on writing for Mindfunda that long).

Behind the scenes of Mindfunda the blog

Mindfunda started in February with a first blog post about Valentines day and a scientific method of making somebody fall in love with you. That was what I want for Mindfunda: fun articles with a different edge. To make you think. To make you stop. To make you wonder. To encourage you to reconsider your own beliefs. I usually want some scientific data to back up my story. That means research. And research. And research. Jotting things down on paper, usually my notes look like this:

I call Mindfunda the walking website. Because after I have done all this work I usually walk. Nothing can bring notes and thoughts more into perspective then a walk, while thinking about what I want to say. I think about how I am going to say it, why I am going to say it and why my readers would want to read it. I think my Ray Kurzweil post is one of my favorites. I put so much effort in researching Kurzweil (I really got to like him), his life, his determination, his brilliant mind that I had to contemplate how to convince you of his brilliance without coming across as a love-sick puppy.

My post about a dream that alerted the dreamer to a heart condition is one of the most visited posts, according to statistics. We live in a time that many people suffer from heart conditions.

Behind the scenes of Mindfunda YouTube

After two months of blogging I wanted to publish an interview. Being a book addict I wanted to let writers tell about their books. I wanted people to engage with them, like them, see them, hear about their struggles, their solutions, their happiness but also about their failures. Because failing is not a problem. Failing is a side road to success. I created a YouTube channel for Mindfunda.

One of the books that had intrigued me the most was Dream of the Cosmoswritten by Jungian author Anne Baring.

Anne Baring

In April 2015 I taped the first Skype interview with non other than Anne Baring. She, in my eyes, is a star. Having read her “Mythology of the Goddess” I was severely impressed with the intellectual depth of this lady. She has read so many old books about Kabbalah, about Sacred Geometry, she traveled the world: she is like an intellectual rock star to me. After emailing her she agreed to an interview on Skype. I was jumping tables, filled with joy. Unfortunately she had to cancel the interview. Twice. That is not good for your self-confidence. At an earlier age in my life, when I was about eight year old I really wanted to be a journalist. And interviewing people comes close. So having interviews cancelled for any reason is not good for your self-esteem. And she mailed me she did not like my questions. So I decided to jump in at the deep end and skip the questions but to ask her to tell about subjects. She agreed to that (and now you know the reason why I do not talk very much in that interview). But she was indeed my intellectual superstar. She gave such an inspiring talk that I was glowing with enthusiasm after I hang up the phone on Skype.

I usually give the authors my questions at least a week before the interview, so they can prepare. I like to start with a personal question about a dream, or a life changing experience. Most viewers don’t look long at interviews so you have to catch them early on to capture them. So that personal question, where the interviewees show a vulnerable, likable side of him or herself is very important.
When the introduction is done, my job as interviewer gets a bit harder. I have to listen, I have to scan the answers to see if the people watching have gotten an answer, and I have to prepare the next question in my mind. I can tell you that is a lot of work. I am not very good at multitasking…

The interview that surprised me the most was that with Ralph Metzner. He was in a good mood during our Skype conversation. We had a time mix up being 10 hours apart, I called him too late or he called me too early. But he gave an in-depth analysis of Western culture. He talked about Russia, with its Bear totem animal. He talked about ancestry, about Odin. And when I closed the interview after 50 minutes he said surprised: “Are we done already?”

Robert Waggoner was a delight to interview. I just admit to you that I am no good at multitasking and Robert thought along with me. He recommended research, he gave reading tips, he summarized.
I called him in his early morning and he was sharp. He is an early bird.
I did not have my headphone working while I did the interview with him, that is the reason I edited myself out of the video. And besides, Robert is far more interesting when it comes to lucid dreaming. I only have about 3-5 lucid dreams a month so I do not consider myself to be an expert on the subject.

I was so glad when I saw one of my friends on Facebook was a friend of Connie Kaplan. Her ‘Woman’s book of Dreams’ influenced me very much. We could have talked for hours. But keeping my interviews around 50 minutes is my aim. Preferably shorter, twenty minutes would be my favorite length. Experts say an ideal interview just lasts about three minutes. Connie talked with ease and felt really comfortable. She displays so much joy and wisdom in her film that you have got to fall in love with her.

I was really afraid that Jean Raffa would be far too busy to be interviewed by me. I heard such good things about her books especially ‘Dream theatres of the Soul’ and the ‘Healing the Sacred Divide’. But she was delightful, down to earth, but jet very spiritual. But she was happy to do the interview, even at a time when she was occupied with her keynote speech for the International Association for the Study of Dreams (IASD) annual conference where she was invited to be the keynote speaker.
I usually engage in a talk before I do the interview (I edit this part out) and we discovered we had mutual Facebook friends and that we both had this longing for a spiritual depth that we could not fulfill using the traditional spiritual methods. So I ended up telling her everything about my “Reading the Red Book project” something I am working on now. I use the Red Book as a tool to incubate dreams to guide my own inner experience of religion.

The last interview I uploaded (I have not uploaded my interview with PMH Atwater yet) is that of Stanley Krippner. Stanley is a highly intelligent man who always impresses me with his knowledge of books and research. There is no subject to be discussed with him, or he can give you a good book written about it, or some excellent research for you to read. The only thing he is not able to give you is the ISBN number of the book. The interview went very well even though he was very hungry (It was his one-o-clock that I interviewed him). During this interview he showed a magnificent shamanic drum he once got, I was very impressed by it.

Now I am busy editing PMH Atwater’s interview and preparing questions for Catherine Wikholm who is one of the authors of the Buddha pill.
PMH Atwater is a writer and dyslexic, a combination that is very impressive. During our interview she was very direct, very scientific and very down to earth. The thing I had to get used to is that she likes to be called PMH. She considers that to be her first name. It was easy to get used too, because I became quite charmed with her energy. She has been researching near death experiences for a long time. Like Jean Raffa, she is has re-defined her personal religion. Now she is searching for people who had a near death experience at an early age and she does an appeal to you to connect with her and tell her your story if indeed you had one at an early age.

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Please sign up for my YouTube channel to enjoy all the beautiful Mindfunda interviews with inspiring people. People like Jean Benedict Raffa, Anne Baring, Connie Kaplan, Ralph Metzner and Stanley Krippner. I will be doing an interview with Catherine Wikholm about her book the Buddha Pill very soon so be sure to sign up!

How to become aware in a dream that you are dreaming? A lot of books have been written on the subject. Some better than others. Mindfunda gives a list of the five best books about how to lucid dream.

Lucid dreaming Book tip #1

The art of dreaming

The ultimate classic of lucid dreaming. It has taught many people the skills to achieve lucid dreaming by carefully looking at their hands before falling asleep. While doing so you must decide that every time you see your hands (you always have them with you) you ask yourself whether you are sleeping or not. A very succesful method that has helped many people who are now famous in the area of dreaming like Robert Waggoner and Stanley Krippner.

Lucid dreaming Book tip #2

Lucid dreaming paperback

I will start out our list with a classic. Stephen LaBerge wrote this basic guide years ago. it is still one of the best guides around. It teaches you to remember things, it teaches you to become aware, and it teaches you to test the reality you are experiencing. A very good beginners book.

Lucid dreaming Book tip #3

Robert Waggoner wrote a basic book together with his student Caroline McCready. Mindfunda did an interview with Robert Waggoner you can read more information about it here.

Lucid dreaming plain and simple

This book gives very useful and practical how to exercises that challenge you to improve on your lucid skills. It is filled with the history of lucid dreaming and really a good source of information.

Lucid dreaming Book tip #4

If you have more experience in lucid dreaming, this guide is as useful as it is practical. Lucid dreaming, New Perspectives on Consciousness in Sleep (Practical and Applied Psychology)

Written by Ryan Hurd, edited by Kelly Bulkeley. Fariba Bogzaran, Clare Johnson and many others participated in this historical overview of experiments, articles and books about lucid dreaming.

Lucid dreaming Book tip #5

Since ancient times there is a special way of falling asleep and keeping conscious. Dream yoga. Dream yoga is an ancient Buddhist monk practice that is described in various books. Here is one of the best: it is useful, practical and easy to read.

Dreaming yourself awake

Dream yoga are buddhist practices to learn the skill of lucid dreaming as a spiritual transformation. Several levels of awareness while dreaming can be taught. To become aware that one is dreaming, to face up to aspects of ones inner shadow, to practice changing objects in dreams.

GRAB YOURSELF A FREE E-BOOK AND LEARN ALL ABOUT MUTUAL DREAMING USING THIS LINK

Mindfunda about Dreams and Dreaming

If you are interested in dreams, Mindfunda is the blog for you. Please subscribe to the blog using the sign up form at your left hand side. I write every other day, about dreams, spirituality, mythology. I regularly review the latest books about dreams and dream research on Mindfunda Bookreviews.

If you want to remember more dreams, I have got 10 useful tips for you. If you do remember dreams on a regular basis, you would want to know the meaning of your dreams. There are several ways of dream interpretation you can use to decipher dream meanings.

On the topic of Lucid dreaming, I created a list of the top 5 books about lucid dreaming I recommend (Let me know if I have missed a book about lucid dreaming that you thought was extremely good).

There are so many ways of dreaming, so many creative things you can do with a dream. You can enhance the scientific thought that dreams are the result of the neutrons in the brain working out and training. You can embrace the thought that dreams know you through the depths of your soul, or you can curiously explore every way there is to discover more about one of the mysteries that science has not figured out yet.

THIS CONTENT IS CREATED BY SUSANNE VAN DOORN, AUTHOR AND OWNER OF MINDFUNDA; MAKING THE FUNDAMENTALS OF PSYCHOLOGY, MYTHOLOGY AND SPIRITUALITY EASY TO USE IN YOUR PERSONAL LIFE!

Susanne van Doorn

What is Mindfunda about?

My name is Susanne van Doorn, I am a Dutch psychologist, blogger and author. I have been working with psychology, dreams and mythology ever since I finished my study in psychology at Tilburg University. I made this independent site to share insights, and recent scientific articles about the brain, dreams, and mythology for use in your personal life.

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I was pregnant with the idea for Mindfunda for a while. It had to be a blog that combined research and spirituality juiced up with a little bit of mythology. About three months ago, on February 10, the first Mindfunda was published. Since then I talked with you about a lot of good books. Thank you all for your support, your shares on Facebook and twitter. You all make my job so much fun!

Here is a list of the most visited blogs according to our statistics:

Good books #1: 10 dream books you should read

Actually these are 10 books for the price of one! This is one of the most visited blog posts I have written untill now. The list contains good classics on the subject of dreaming and dream interpretation.
Creative dreaming by Patricia Garfield, the book that got me “hooked” on dreaming at the age of 16 (I could not stop reading it and it introduced me to lucid dreaming) is my personal number one. You can read the list here. Be sure to leave a comment in the section below if I have missed a good book that I should be reading and blogging about.

Good books #2: Dream from the Cosmos

Anne Barring was introduced to me while I was talking with Patricia Garfield about good books written about the Goddess. Anne Baring had written, together with Jules Cashford The myth of the Goddess. At home I purchased it and I dived into their phenomenal knowledge about the Goddess principle.
Dream of the cosmos had an even more alluring sound to it, because it discussed the myth of the Sekhina: the dwelling part of god on earth.

Dream of the cosmos

You can read my blog about it here, in the blog is a link to my interview with Anne Baring. My first interview, with such an educated lady. You will definitely look at the world in a different way after reading/digesting it. You will see how things are connected, you will be able to feel the tiny lines of the web of Indra that connects all.

Good books #3: The woman’s book of dreams

Connie Kaplan wrote a book about how the moon affects dreams. It is something we are all aware of. Dreaming during full moon is usually more intense. Somebody told me, right before I had to do a dream workshop for some pregnant ladies that in the book of Connie Kaplan you will find a method for group dream work that is very useful. And indeed, the night before I had to do the workshop I dreamed about going downstairs and getting her Woman’s book of dreams out of my bookshelves. You can read my post about it here. In the blog the link to my interview with her is included.

the Woman’s book of dreams

Good books #4: Theory of dreams by Kasatkin

As a young girl I had a near death experience caused by a diabetic coma. Being ill for a long time, the doctors could not find anything wrong with me and dismissed it as “growth”. Meanwhile I was getting thinner and thinner and finally my fat supply was gone…

Ever since I have been very interested in health. I did some research about dreams and health, I started a rather unsuccessful questionnaire that not many people responded to. But I had this notion that your dreams follow the process of your disease and that you in fact can incorporate them to heal yourself.

I was not the first with that idea. A Russian psychiatrist, Vasily Kasatkin gathered data from all his patients in several hospitals in Russia. He analyzed the data and published a book called A theory of dreams.

A theory of dreams

This book was never translated. I sent an email to a German military library asking for a copy and I got it. Then I had to translate it. This was a problem: I don’t speak Russian and I did not have the money to have it translated for me. I dd actually find someone who withdrew because Russian was not her native language. But she promised me to help whenever I got stuck in a sentence. And boy did I need that help! My husband, the invaluable invisible force behind Mindfunda helped me to scan the documents in a way that permitted me to cut and paste it into google translate. Then I had pieces of text that I had to re-write and remodel into proper English. I wanted to update the insights of Kasatkin (which where remarkable modern for his day and age) and put in a lot of footnotes referring to modern research in the areas he mentioned.
It was a labour of love. Read all about dreams and health here.

Good books #5: Lucid dreaming plain and simple

Robert Waggoner wrote another book together with Caroline McCready. His first book Lucid dreaming Gateway to the inner self is on my favorite dream book list for years.

Lucid dreaming gateway to the inner self

With his remarkable talent of analysing Robert waggoner always finds an interesting edge in your road to self discovery. His newest book is filled with tips, techniques, loaded with information, and the two writers have gathered dreams from the most skilled lucid dreamers. You can read my bog about it here, in the blog is a link to my interview with him.

The shadow, your own inner dark personas. Carl Jung was the first to talk about it. The method of discovering your shadow types is well-known. Make up a list of thing you completely dislike about people your own gender. Et voila, there is a list of your dark side. Things you are reluctant to admit about yourself. But it does not all have to be that complicated and depressing. here are 5 relaxed ways of identifying and accepting your shadow.

Mindfunda’s 5 ways of interpreting shadow

Way of interpreting your shadow #1

We live in an age of technology. Work has been simplified by computers. the downside is that theer is a big change you might become replaced by a machine.
In their book Projecting the shadow: the cyborg hero in american film Thomas S. Frentz and Janice Hocker Rushing interpret films in a mythological way. They talk about sis movies: Jaws, the Deer Hunter, Manchurian candidate, Blade runner, Terminator and Terminator 2.

projecting the shadow: the cyborg hero in american film

The hunter mythology is taken to a new level because the machine represents the shadow part of the hero. The old wise man/shaman who knows about the spiritual strength necessary to endure life is replaced by half man – half machines. These cyborgs hunt the hunter.
A lot of science fiction films have played with this mythology, humanizing the computers. One comes to mind easily: Robot. In this film, the machine becomes human. Does this mean that the shadow gets integrated?

Way of interpreting your shadow #2

Monika Wikman writes in Pregnant Darkness: When Saturn’s shadow takes us to the place of no imagination, no play, no humor, and no movement, the jackass brings us humor. Without humor about your own shadow aspects, we encounter difficulties that affect our connection with and participation in the mysteries of life.

surviving saturn’s return

Every 28 years Saturn, the planet that represent your darker side, your challenges completes his circle around your birth chart. Surviving Saturn’s Return written by Sherene Schostak and Stefanie Weiss is a book that will help you identify 12 important lessons for your life. And it even promises you to help you find your true self.

Way of interpreting your shadow #3

Dr. Sharon Moalem writes in his book Inheritance: ..The real numbers are hard to come by but at least three-quarters of all children have been bullied at some point in their lives… Those experiences do more than psychological damage. There is a striking epigenetic change in children that were bullied. It changes your genes work and how they change your life.

Inheritance

The book of Moalem gives you insights into your genetic heritage, encourages you to find out more about your ancestors, to change your diet according to the needs of your genes. I think that a lot of psychological work can be taken over by biology. This book helps you in an easy way to make the best of your genetic heritage.

Way of interpreting your shadow #4

Befriend the second you. A lot of us walk around with the notion we have a secret self we need to hide. We are in good company. Hear Marion Woodman talk about it. Saying yes is her secret, nurture the two aspects.

Dancing in the flames

In this book Marion tells you about the Black Goddess, Kali, about embracing chaos. To acknowledge your desire for creation as well as your capacity for destruction will make you a happier person. And you will enjoy the wisdom of a lady who is so knowledgable about the human psyche because she has lived it all. She will open the way for you to recover your shadow-self from your dreams and interpret them. Dreams are an invitation to get to know yourself better.

Way of interpreting your shadow #5

Lucid dreaming as a way of recognizing and incorporating your shadow. recently I interviewed Robert Waggoner about his new book Lucid dreaming plain and simple. In his book he writes: “Jung felt that dreams occasionally bring up shadow elements that seek some kind of recognition. often, nightmarish or repulsive figures can be interpreted as shadow elements in the Jungian sense. By embracing these denied parts of the self and reintegrating them consciously, transformation occurs.

Lucid dreaming plain and simple

If you are not an experienced lucid dreamer, this is the book for you. It has several techniques, it has a spiritual and philosophical edge to it and it is filled with nice how to exercises.

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I will be interviewing Jean Raffa soon and putting it on my Youtube channel so be sure to sign up!

Grab yourself a free e-book and learn all about mutual dreaming using this link

Caroline McCready is an author, teacher, artist, a graduate of the University of Warwick, with a BA honours degree in History of Art and also has a postgraduate SQC in Psychology from Oxford Brookes University. Caroline spent a year at the Julian Ashton Fine Art School in Sydney, Australia before going on to study Sculpture in Chelsea, London.

They both met at the presentation and courses Robert gives in Lucid dreaming and decided to write a book suitable for beginners as well as more experienced Lucid dreamers.

Lucid dreaming Plain and simple

For the sake of the interview I decided to divide the book into four parts:

#1: Basic techniques for lucid dreaming

The first part of the book (chapter 1-4) gives information about the history, science and basic techniques of lucid dreaming. There are some nice stories about dreams in the book. For instance how Google founder Larry Page woke up with the idea “What if we could download the whole web and just keep the links?”We all know how big Google has become.
Basic lucid induction techniques like finding your hands, mental suggestions, Mild (Mneminic Inductions of Lucid Dreams), the Critical reflection Technique of Paul Tholey and Wild (Wake Initiated Lucid Dreams), Cram (Constant Repetition and Affirmation Method), Wbtb (Wake back to bed) are discussed. It makes the book a valuable resource for all lucid dreamers around.
The methods of stabilizing your lucid dreams : Meme: Modulate your emotions, Enhance your awareness, Maintain focus, Establish your intent or goal, ways to prolong lucid dreams, waking from lucid dreams and how to recognize a false awakening you can find all of this in the first 4 chapters of this book.

#2: Fine tuning the basic techniques

The second part of the book (chapter 5 – 9) revolves around fine tuning the core techniques of lucid dreaming. Robert touches on interacting with other dream figures in a lucid state to resolve, balancing your inner energy, explore different materials in a lucid dream, intent and the power of surrender, for some dreamers the hardest part of all in lucid dreaming: the power of surrender. This book is not plain and simple. It initiates you to approach lucid dreaming in a respectful way that will increase the knowledge of yourself.

#3: Lucid dreaming and healing

The third part of the book chapter 10 – 13, around dreaming and healing: healing emotionally and physically. finding inner balance by integrating the shadow (the book has a recognizable and enjoyable Jungian flavor), how to heal in a lucid dream and one of my favorite suggestions is meditating in a lucid dream (I never meditated in a lucid dream before I read this book. Meditating while being lucid gives you a healing sense of connection with the universe. In the interview Robert gives credit for this idea to experienced lucid dreamer Clare Johnson.

#4: Lucid Living

The final part of the book is Lucid living. Robert Waggoner is an expert on this. Listen to the interview to hear what he has to tell you about Lucid Living.

(If you decide to buy the book using the link in this blog you will support Mindfunda. Thank you for that!)

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THIS CONTENT IS CREATED BY SUSANNE VAN DOORN, AUTHOR AND OWNER OF MINDFUNDA; MAKING THE FUNDAMENTALS OF PSYCHOLOGY, MYTHOLOGY AND SPIRITUALITY EASY TO USE IN YOUR PERSONAL LIFE!

What is Mindfunda about?

My name is Susanne van Doorn, I am a Dutch psychologist, blogger and author. I have been working with psychology, dreams and mythology ever since I finished my study in psychology at Tilburg University. I made this independant site to share insights, and recent scientific articles about the brain, dreams, and mythology for use in your personal life.

This posting is categorised as Dreamfunda:
Everything you need to know about dreams. Practical How to’s, the latest scientific research, the most commonly used ways to attach meaning to dreams. This and more is given to you for your everyday use in this part of Mindfunda

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There is a secret trick to understand more about the dream you dream. It is this secret: dreams tell stories. But who is the storyteller? What is the perspective of your dreamstory? This is a subject that gets ignored by most dream methods: Jungian, Freudian, Gestalt. There is only one book I know of that mentions this: Lucid dreaming, Gateway to the inner Self by Robert Waggoner. Let’s explore. I’ll start by telling you one of my favorite dreams:

“I am walking in the garden, the grass is green and next to me walks an older man with grey hair and glasses on. He wears a suit. I recognize him as Carl Jung. We walk together and he keeps on talking to me, telling me things about the psyche, that by waking up I forgot about.”

My feeling when I woke up was one of sheer happiness. I was a great admirer of Carl Jung and his insights in the human psyche. To come up with a concept like “the collective unconscious” has always impressed me. To dream of such a man treating me like his equal, discussing things that mattered to him with me made me very happy.

My Dutch teacher Sister Michelle was a nun of the order of the sisters of love, so she was mean. But she was also thorough in teaching the language and we both loved books. I was enlightened to be taught about books because I read so many. The books’ perspective I had to find. Sometimes it was the I, like in dreams, sometimes it is a first person’s perspective. But most of the time it is not. Most of the time there is an Omniscient Viewpoint. No one tells the story, it seems to be told from a god like point of view. I came to call this viewpoint in my dreams “the dream-maker”.

If you look at my ream what do you see? Who tells the dream? I start with an “I” perspective: “I am walking in the garden”. It is clear, it is a dream about me, seen from my perspective. Then there is an introduction of another character: Carl Jung. He does a lot of talking. So there is a change in perspective, from me to Jung. He tells me a lot about psychology, about the human psyche but when awake, i have forgotten all. (Given Carl Jung his intellect I guess this happened to him quite often, he was so intelligent most people lost track in conversations. It is known that he asked people to pre-read his books before publication, to check if they where not too complicated).
But- who’s perspective has the dream taken on now? Not Carl Jung’s. There seems to be a third person: the storyteller. An Omniscient Viewpoint. How does this help you understanding dreams you dream? It helps you to step back from the dream as being a part of you. the notion that all deam characters are only a part of you. If this dream of mine came from a Omniscient Viewpoint then it must have been a divine message? Indeed I did go to University and studied psychology, a study that fitted like a glove. For me, looking at the perspective of a dream story has always been the secret trick to understanding dreams you dream. I think my Sister Michelle in hindsight.What do you discover when you look at your dreams to see whose perspective the story tells?

After reading Robert Waggoner’s chapter: Connecting with the Hidden Observer of Dreaming in his book Lucid Dreaming Gateway to the inner self (highly recommended, if you have not read it yet I encourage you to do so) I did the following experiment.

Lucid dreaming Gateway to the Inner Self Robert Waggoner

I wanted to know who my dream maker was. I decided to try to get a lucid dream to get more clarity on this intriguing subject. That night I dreamed that I was standing outside a tower, a dark medieval tower. Inside was a man, looking a bit like how I imagine Merlin looks. Older man, grey hair, sharp nose, an archetypical wise old man. And I admit, I was disappointed. My dream-maker was a man. At the second I thought that (as it happens often in dreams) Merlin changed in a woman. An elderly lady dressed in a green robe with a lovely red necklace on.

How about you? Have you ever given thought about the perspective of your dream story?